Harry Reid continues millionaire tax push

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Wednesday that pieces of President Barack Obama’s jobs package should be paid for by taxing the wealthy, an idea Republicans have repeatedly rejected.

The approach resembles Reid’s proposal to pay for the president’s entire $447 billion jobs bill by imposing a 5.6 percent surtax on those who earn more than $1 million a year. The bill, modified to include Reid’s surtax, failed to overcome a GOP-led filibuster Tuesday night, falling nine votes short of the 60 needed.

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So Reid and other Democratic leaders plan to break up the American Jobs Act and try to pass individual pieces, including funding for new infrastructure and an extension of a 2 percent payroll tax cut for employees.

Asked how he would pay for those individual measures, the Nevada Democrat told reporters: “With a tax that the vast majority of the American people support. That is, taxing just a little bit people making more than $1 million a year.”

Reid’s remarks came after a Democratic caucus lunch during which senators tried to find a way forward on their jobs agenda and aired concerns about some elements of Obama’s jobs plan. The majority leader said he’s been working closely with the White House and Democratic colleagues, but he won’t decide which bill to bring up first “until we have direction from my caucus.”

After the Senate considers three bipartisan trade agreements Wednesday night, it will turn to appropriations measures. The Senate likely will bring the first job measure to the floor sometime next week. “Every week, we’re going to be focusing on jobs,” Reid said.

Yet when it comes to some of the job proposals, Reid will have to quell concerns from rank-and-file members of his own caucus.

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, is openly critical of one of the Democratic ideas in Obama’s jobs plan: extending the payroll tax cut, which expires in January and lowered employees’ share of Social Security taxes to 4.2 percent from 6.2 percent.

“I never liked the payroll tax cut because once again, you’re sort of debating the premise of Social Security,” Harkin told POLITICO. “And you’re borrowing from the general fund to put money into it. So I’ve never liked that idea. I never thought it was a good deal, and I never thought it was the best way to help people who are out of work.”

Meanwhile, freshman Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who voted to begin debate on Obama’s jobs bill but vowed to vote against it, said he backs a proposal to extend unemployment benefits for another year. But first, he said, recipients should be required to receive retraining.

“Before we do another extension, wouldn’t it be reasonable to ask people to go and get retrained in a certified retraining program and be enrolled in that, an education program,” Manchin told reporters. “Let’s retrain them, get them back into the workforce. These are common-sense approaches in West Virginia.”

If the two parties can’t agree on how to pay for the job measures, Manchin said, they should take the billions of dollars the U.S. in spending in Iraq and Afghanistan and “bring it back home, rebuild America.”

Democrats, though, will get little cooperation from Republicans. While Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said some measures could receive bipartisan support or be taken up by the deficit-cutting supercommittee, he warned that government action would not turn around the economy.

“The single most significant thing we can do to create jobs would be to quit doing what we’ve been doing. Quit borrowing, quit spending, quit overregulating and quit threatening to raise taxes,” McConnell told reporters. “The government is not the solution to this sluggish economy. The government is the problem.”

it won't affect him or any Demon since they take all the money under the table. Did you read Drudge today. The Union Boss is taking 500'000 bucks as retirement and you stupid people go and mess with wall street. God it takes a lib and the stupid school kids of rich and slob parents. Nothing better to do, let's have a little fun and sex and drugs. Just like Obummer did in his younger years.

"""Boycott, refrain from using or patronizing any of the businesses on this list. And if you ever plan a trip to Nevada do not patronize any of the Casino's on this list. I suggest you copy this list of donors and post it all over the internet. The way to bring this scumbag down is by cutting off his money. Cut off the money and the rat dies!"""

How long are Obama and the Democrat's rich liberal donor's willing to be the whipping boy to save Obama? Another 15 month's. Let's see how they feel. Warren Buffet is already almost as unpopular as Congress and the IRS at this point.

Obama 10-12-2011: “We will keep organising and we will keep pressuring and we will keep voting until this Congress finally meets its responsibilities and actually does something to put people back to work and improve the economy.”

Our Fearless Leader....from his Podium....defamating the Republicans in Congress even though most of his own party reject his Union favoring Jobs Bill....our Community Organizer President who has proven he doesn't know Jack about America.

Obama approved a $535 Million Dollar Loan for Solyndra that Bush rejected due to High Risk....but then Solyndra's owners like George Kaiser did not contribute $57,000 to Bush either....BIG DIFFERENCE when concerning the approval of Government Funds.

FUN FACTS: Obama has approved another extremely High Risk Company last week called SunPower for $1.2 Billion....over twice the amount Solyndra defaulted on. Yes sir, Obama approved another Financially unstable Company in Sunpower who is in debt $800 Million to creditors and who happens to endorse Obama and raise over $100,000 for his 2008 and 2012 Campaigns.

Check this out.....SunPower will only be hiring 10 to 15 permanent positions after receiving $1.2 Billion in Government Loans.

Obama 10-12-2011: “We will keep organising and we will keep pressuring and we will keep voting until this Congress finally meets its responsibilities and actually does something to put people back to work and improve the economy.”

Our Fearless Leader....from his Podium....defamating the Republicans in Congress even though most of his own party reject his Union favoring Jobs Bill....our Community Organizer President who has proven he doesn't know Jack about America.

Obama approved a $535 Million Dollar Loan for Solyndra that Bush rejected due to High Risk....but then Solyndra's owners like George Kaiser did not contribute $57,000 to Bush either....BIG DIFFERENCE when concerning the approval of Government Funds.

FUN FACTS: Obama has approved another extremely High Risk Company last week called SunPower for $1.2 Billion....over twice the amount Solyndra defaulted on. Yes sir, Obama approved another Financially unstable Company in Sunpower who is in debt $800 Million to creditors and who happens to endorse Obama and raise over $100,000 for his 2008 and 2012 Campaigns.

Check this out.....SunPower will only be hiring 10 to 15 permanent positions after receiving $1.2 Billion in Government Loans.

The problem with the so-called "millionaire" tax is that it would impair small businesses in the accumulation of capital for expansion. Those of us who wouldn't mind the tax on CEOs, movie stars and spoiled professional athletes, etc., do object to it's effect on small business. Why not create a separate account where small businesses (sole proprietorships, partnerships and Subchapter S corps) can defer tax on income while they accumulate it for capital expansion. If they then spend it on the business it is treated as expense or capital investment as appropriate. If it is simply withdrawn then it would pay the millionaires tax with interest from the day of its initial deposit. Thus folks needing the funds for investment are protected and those simply spending it will pay the tax. Too easy. Doesn't fit the class warfare scenario. Don't hold your breath.

Fabulous List......priceless.....Obama and all Dems LOVE to call the GOP the party who caters to the rich....when evidence like this clearly proves otherwise.

Obama has 14 Major Donors on his Jobs Council. GE's Jeff Immelt has created more jobs outside the United States than he has created within the USA over the last 10 years.

Solyndra lost $535 Million in Taxpayer Funds that they never should have received since Bush rejected them for the loan due to high risk. George Kaiser was one of Obamas top fundraisers and the largest investor in Solyndra.

SunPower was approved last week for $1.2 Billion even though they are financially very unstable, they owe creditors in excess of $800 Million and will only be creating 10 to 15 permanent jobs. Oh, they are major Donors to the Democratic Party.

Obama appointed 14 Wall Street Executives to his administration, 5 of the Execs are former Goldman Sachs Employees. You know, Goldman Sachs....the Wall Street Financial Company who is considered the Cornerstone of the entire Global Meltdown AND adviser of pre-bankruptcy Solyndra.